Pokémon poacher
From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
A Pokémon poacher is someone who captures wild Pokémon, sometimes many of the same species at a time, to sell for profit. These people are sometimes referred to as Pokémon hunters.
Poachers have appeared in a number of episodes as well as movies. Team Rocket was the first major organization to steal Pokémon for profit. The first major hunter was also a member of said team: Vicious, the main villain of Pokémon 4Ever. Using a unique Poké Ball known as the Dark Ball, he attempted to capture Celebi. Another poacher appeared briefly at the beginning of the film.
A group of poachers, the Pokémon Poacher Brothers, appeared in a memory of Ash's Larvitar in Address Unown. They had stolen the Pokémon when it was still in its egg, and also tried to kidnap its mother, severely wounding her. They appeared in person in Mother of all Battles.
Rico, a poacher from the Hoenn region, appeared in A Poached Ego!. He was trying to steal a group of wild Ekans and Koffing, but was later arrested by Officer Jenny.
J is the first recurring poacher. She travels the Sinnoh region with her henchmen, stealing Pokémon on behalf of her clients. She first appeared in Mutiny in the Bounty, and was featured again in Ill-Will Hunting, and Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Parts One and Two. Like Vicious, she often uses gadgets to achieve her goals.
Another Pokémon poacher appeared in The Drifting Snorunt where he attempted to steal a wild Snorunt. He also battled Ash, Dawn, Jessie and James to achieve this.
Pokémon Hunters tend to be far more dangerous than other villains in the series as they typically have no qualms about having their Pokémon attack humans directly or using guns (in the case of the Pokémon Poacher Brothers) to attack their prey. This is most often shown by J, who in DP072 seemed to be trying to kill Ash repeatedly, and Rico also had his Pokémon attack Jessie and James. Pokémon Hunters are normally portrayed with little to no sense of mercy or regret as well; in fact, J and Vicious are often believed by fans to be pure evil.
